Dear brothers and sisters,

We look back on an eventful year in which we experienced the nearness and guidance of our Lord in one way or another. One thing is certainly true, also in 2022 God con­tinued to pursue His plan of redemption and led us closer to our goal: the participation in the first resurrection to serve Christ as priests and reign with Him in the kingdom of peace. This is what we read in Revelation 20: 6.

Those who have been endowed with the authority of Christ in the kingdom of peace can serve and carry out their mission unhindered. Their service will consist of preaching the gospel to human beings and leading them to God. Reigning has nothing to do with ruling the world, but to be a witness to the supremacy of Christ by embodying the love and ­mercy of God.

Jesus has already called us today to serve and reign in His spirit. Hence our motto for 2023: Serving and reigning with Christ.

We serve Him today already by leaving our daily lives behind and coming to church in order to worship God together. We also serve Jesus by putting His gospel into practice in our daily lives. And it is our service to others to love them as Christ loves us.

We have also been called to rule with Christ in 2023. This does not mean that we exercise power over our neighbour, but that we rule over our own thoughts and ­actions with the help of Christ:  

His love does not divide, but unites.

His grace picks us up when we fall.

His wisdom helps us to learn from our mistakes.

We are not helplessly exposed to temptation either, but can rule over the sin that lies at the door to our hearts. The best way to remain in control of our own destiny is to let Christ reign in our hearts.

Together with all the Apostles, I wish you a blessed and fulfilling year 2023!  

Heartfelt greetings

Jean-Luc Schneider

Mary was pregnant at a time when the mood of the Jewish people was low. Israel was no longer a sovereign state and the Roman occupiers were not exactly kind to their subjects.

Mary was also directly affected by all of this. She was well along in her pregnancy when she had to undertake a difficult journey to comply with the Roman occupation forces’ order for a census, and to say nothing of finding a place to live once they arrived in Bethlehem. Perhaps she even thought that God could have done things differently. But what did God do? He did not liberate them from Roman occupation. He did not spare Mary the ordeal. He did, however, make sure that the child was born healthy and could ultimately carry out His plan of salvation.

Even today, people expect God to intervene in the history of the world. In the same way, we also expect Him to help us with our personal concerns. Many have a heavy cross to bear, and the question may well arise: “Dear God, I am Your child, can’t You spare me this?” As in the past, He will not intervene in the course of history today, nor will He solve all our personal problems. However, there is one thing we can be sure of: He will make sure that His plan will be fulfilled, that His Son can come, and that we will be part of the bride. This is the activity of God in our time. The Lord will come!

Food for thought from a divine service by the Chief Apostle